Dusk
by HollyPup
Summary: How would you feel if you didn't fit in, not even with your family? Would you go the distance to bridge the gap, even with everyone and everything against you? Briar Cullen is a human, and she doesn't like it. Please review! More to come!


Disclaimer: Hey. Guess what? whispersIdon'townTwilightwhispers

Note: Yay! Its official! I have gone totally and completely insane! Isn't it fabulous? :D

But seriously, I really don't know WHY I felt the need to start another fic. It seems that everytime I get totally hooked on a book or movie I can't move on till I at least do one chapter. In this case, obviously, it was the Twilight series. Didn't think I was going to like them at all, but I got bored, and I knew my sister owned them all (since I bought two of them for her) so I decided to see what all the hype was about. Lets just say I now own a Team Edward shirt xD

I've had to put a lot of thought into this story, because there are a lot of things that I needed to be able to explain about my character, so I'm hoping that the effort I've put into it will keep me going. Still, its going to be a long haul. Even I manage to keep my goal of 5 chapters for every book in the series thats still 20 chapters, and they'll all probably end up being as long as this one. So for any readers I get, PLEASE do not abandon me if I take forever to update xD Umm, lets see anything else...OH!

Ok, so this is my first time writing in the first person. I decided to write in the first person because the series is written that way and so it felt more appropriate. I would appreciate my readers to therefore be forgiving about any mistakes I make, including both tense issues and any "her"s and "she"s I missed :P

Don't forget to review!

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**Chapter One: Visions**

I didn't want to wake up. My bed felt too comfortable at that moment. All I wanted to do was lay there and sleep the day away. But, of course, I knew that would be a bad idea. Not only did I not want to mar my perfect attendance record, but my parents would be disappointed in me. Not that they would ever say they were disappointed, but I can tell. Besides, everyone else would be going to school, so there would be nothing for me to do except sleep the entire day. So, with this thought in my head, I pushed myself out of bed and rummaged through my dresser until I found some clean clothes. Nothing too flashy for me. Just a simple colored tee shirt and a pair of faded jeans. My hair tended to make up fo the dull wardrobe.

"Briar!" the familiar voice boomed up the stairs. I swear it shook the whole room, but it always did. I quickly pulled a brush through my less than perfect dark brown hair, paying close attention to the streaks of bright pink in the front.

"I'm coming!" I called as I flew down the steps. Nobody waited for me at the bottom of the stairs, but I knew they were waiting out in the car for me, probably arguing over what CD to listen to on the way to school. As I ran out the door I called over my shoulder, "Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" just like I did every morning. I could not see either of my parents, but I knew they could hear me. I almost tripped down the porch steps as I hurried towards the car and got in the back.

"What took you so long?" said the owner of the booming voice. Emmet, one of my brothers, was sitting in the passenger seat. He sounded intimidating, and given his size he usually looked it, but simply by the twinkle in his eyes I knew he was just trying push my buttons. Before I could answer him, my other brother spoke up.

"She didn't want to get up," he said with a grin as he turned the steering wheel to drive them away from the house. I threw a punch at the back of his head. It felt like hitting a rock.

"Stay out of my head, Edward," I told him threateningly, though I didn't really sound the least bit convincing, "I'm not in the mood right now." Edward continued to smile.

"I'll stay out of yours, if you stay out of mine," he said serenely. I folded my arms and sat back in my seat, thinking about how much I'd like to kick him in the shins. Edward laughed as he sped down the road.

I stared out the window, trying hard not to think about last night, but it was difficult. I had not been able to sleep very well. I tossed and turned late into the night, plagued by bad dreams when I was able to slumber. The dreams were always fuzzy around the edges, like I wasn't allowed to see the full picture. What I was able to see was concerning enough, however. For the most part it appeared pretty normal. I was sitting in the living room at home studying for a math exam, but then suddenly Edward was there, and he did not look normal. He looked possessed, almost deranged, with eyes the color of blood, and looking like he was ready to tear the next person who crossed his path to shreds. It was frightening in a very real way, because I knew he could get like that. The question was, what had caused it? It was hard for me to fathom. From the back of the car I could see Edward's face in the rearview mirror, and I could tell he was not keeping up his part of the bargain.

"What are you so glum about?" asked the girl next to me. My sister, Alice, considered gloominess a mortal sin, but since there was no way she could make everybody happy all the time (not that she hadn't tried of course), she seemed to have decided she could be perky and bubbly enough for an entire city worth of people. I looked over at her with a weary look.

"I didn't get enough sleep," I answered her lamely. She did not look convinced, but she had learned not to push me when I didn't want to answer her incessant questions. She was sitting on Jasper's lap, looking perfectly content with life, and I hated her for it. Jasper, the last of my brothers, looked bored as usual, though looking at him I already felt more calm than I did before. He was a very soothing person to be around.

"We shouldn't have to wait up for you to drag yourself out of bed," said a moody voice I knew so well. I sighed, looking over at Rosalie, the other of my two sisters. Her luscious blonde hair hung in waves about her face so I could not see her expression as she stared out the other back window, but I just knew she was scowling. I didn't even bother responding to her, but I saw Emmet look over his shoulder at her, telling her to be nice. _Yeah,_ I thought, _Fat chance._ I could see Edward smiling now.

When we got to school, Edward parked the silver Volvo in our usual space. The car stuck out like a sore thumb as always, but the kids at Forks High School had long gotten over the presence of the shiny vehicle. I piled out of the car along with my siblings and we all dispersed to our first classes. Edward and I both had Calculus together. We walked in silence for the most part, and I could tell that he was still brooding over what I ha been thinking in the car. I let him do so, not really wanting to discuss it at all, but he finally spoke when we got to class five minutes early and took our seats in the back of the empty room. The teacher simply ignored us at the desk.

"It was just a dream," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, but I could hear him clearly. He did not say it as a question, but as a statement, like he was trying to convince me of this.

"I know," I said simply.

"Alice didn't say she saw anything," he continued, still sounding like he was trying to convince me, or maybe he was trying to convince himself.

"I know that, too," I said again, sounding a touch irritated now, "Which is precisely why it was just a dream. Humans have those, you know?" This comment got a glare from Edward, and I smiled at him. Our conversation ended then, both because he was now thoroughly annoyed with me, and the class had begun.

After Calculus was English which I took alone. This was both good and bad. I was glad to be without any of my siblings, all of whom were imposing in their own ways, but now I had too much time to myself to think about the dream and its implications. I knew that I was being ridiculous. It was just a dream. It had to be. I was not precognitive. I did not see the future. I had regular dreams, for the most part, just like any other person. None of them had ever come true. That had to mean that this one would not come to be either. Even with this definite decision in my head, the thoughts still plagued me.

In the cafeteria, I got in line and bought my food, feeling as though nothing made sense. I even had to ask the lunch lady to repeat my total so I could extract the bills and coins from my wallet. I walked with my tray over to the usual table, all four of my siblings already there waiting for me, all of them with similar trays of food in front of them. Sitting down between Emmet and Jasper I began to eat my ham sandwich. None of the others ate. Instead, we all sat in silence like we did every day. Though my family said nothing, the rest of the students in the room were less quiet, so I occupied myself with listening to them.

Towards the end of lunch, after drifting through endless conversations about who studied for what exam, which teachers are totally unfair, and the inevitable discussions on who has a crush on who, who is going out with who, and who should be going out with so-and-so. Through all of this I thought I heard mention of myself and the other Cullen siblings. This was not unusual, as students were always glancing over at the table and saying one thing or another, but when I heard it again, and a third time, I focused in on what was being said. I found the table where the conversation was taking place. The group consisted of many faces I recognized by sight, though I had never spoken with any of them. One girl I did not recognize. She had a slightly nervous way about her, and was obviously a new student. Her name was Isabella Swan, according to one of the other girl's at the table. That would mean she was the police chief's daughter. How interesting.

"Those are the Cullens," one of the girls informed Bella, and I quickly began paraphrasing the conversation for my own convenience, "They were adopted by Dr. Cullen and his wife. They're all _together_ though." I sighed and rolled me eyes at this. It was always the same. "Except for Edward and Briar. Edward doesn't date." I snorted.

"Edward are you hearing this?" I asked, turning my body back to face forward. Edward was there, staring hard in the direction of the table. I took that as a yes. The look on his face, however, bothered me. I rarely saw such a deep, intense look in his eyes, something like frustration, and I could swear they were a different color than usual, but it was hard to tell from my angle on his face. I picked up my plastic spoon which was for my yogurt and poked his hand with it.

"Ed?" I said again. He didn't even flinch in my direction. I looked around at my other siblings, all of whom were watching Edward as well, but none of them said a word. This bothered me in a more potent way than the look on my brother's face.

The bell that signaled the end of lunch broke the trance they all seemed to be in. Edward was up in a flash, moving faster than should be possible, heading for his biology class. The rest of us at the table did the same, dumping our trays and dispersing again to our various classes. I had a computer class with Alice for this period. Just as with Edward before, we walked in silence, getting to class and sliding into our seats near the back of the class. We started up our computers and opened the projects we had been working on in previous weeks. As we worked, I could tell that Alice was thinking hard, and as much as I wanted not to think about Edward and his unusual behavior, I couldn't help myself.

"Alice?" I asked in a quiet voice, trying to make is sound like I was asking her for help, which I did often anyway.

"I don't know what's going on, Brenna," she said in a strained whisper, "If I'd seen something I would have mentioned it." I sighed in an almost exasperated way.

"I know," I told her, "But you all seemed as disturbed by his expression as I was, and you've known him much longer than I have. I just thought maybe you had some insight."

"Well I don't," she said snappishly, which shocked me into silence. I stared at Alice as she stared pointedly at the screen, her lips pursed. Turning back to my computer, I felt even more confused than before. Alice, sweet bubbly Alice, had never snapped at me like that before, ever. Not in the eighteen years of my existence. I wished I could decipher what was going on, but I didn't have a clue. So I focused on my work, trying to force any thoughts about the situation out of my head.

School ended and I packed up my backpack in silence, brooding deeply. I walked out to the parking lot like I was in a daze, not really aware of moving until I got to the silver Volvo. A great roar startled me out of my thoughts and I looked to my right at a large, mongrel truck I had never seen before. Sure enough, the new girl from the cafeteria was behind the wheel. She glanced in our direction, a nervous look on her face. I wondered what that was about, but I wasn't able to tell. I looked back at the family car, searching for Edward, but he was not there. Frowning, I looked around at the other four of my siblings, but they were already in the car. I sighed. It didn't appear as though any of them were going to be answering my questions today. The ride home only managed to frustrate me more, since Edward was not there. I couldn't even hear any of the others _think_.

When we arrive back to the house, everyone was out of the car almost before I could blink. I followed them glumly, my backpack slung over my shoulder. Collapsing in the living room, I was hardly aware of how quiet the house was. Usually I never noticed, but something felt wrong today. I could feel tension coming from somewhere, and I knew that my siblings knew what was up with Edward. They just weren't going to tell me. I was fuming as I opened a textbook and began studying for my Calculus exam the next day. It was hard going since my mind was on other things, but I managed to make it halfway through the chapter we were being tested on before I heard the front door slam. I glanced up, recognizing Edward's voice, though he hadn't said anything.

There was no time for me to even open my mouth to say anything before his appearance struck me speechless. I stared up into the face of my brother, my blue eyes wide. Too shocked to even feel fear, I tried to take in what I was seeing. Edward looked as though he had been possessed by some crazed demon. His entire body language seemed to have changed, every muscle looking tense and ready to spring into action. His wonderful bronze hair, which I had always been jealous of, seemed to have become something like a wild bush on top of his head, sticking out at odd angles and look unkempt. Instead of making him look messy, it made him look more fierce than she could ever remember seeing him. But, the thing that held my gaze the most were his eyes. Instead of being the bloodthirsty scarlet of my dream, they were a terrible coal black.

"Edward?" I asked in a meek, shaking voice, "Edward what's wrong?" He looked at me without really seeing me. His lips pulled back in a snarl and I was suddenly _very _scared.

And then my entire family was there in the living room with the two of us. Emmet and Jasper flanked me on the couch, well Rosalie and Alice stood behind me. Carlisle, my father, was next to Edward, a hand resting lightly on his shoulder while he whispered softly in his ear. Esme, my mother, stood off to the side, a worried look on her face. I watched all of this with a frightened confusion, unsure about what I should be doing. I had never seen Edward like this before, and my normally brave self suddenly felt like a small child in the presence of a monster. I shrank against Emmet's side, my eyes always on Edward.

Carlisle finished whispering in Edward's ear, and Edward seemed to come back to himself. His eyes remained black, but the snarl left his lips, and he gazed at me with something like horror, as though he couldn't believe what he had been about ready to do. He grabbed his head in his hands, squeezing handfuls of his hair until I began to worry he would pull it out by the roots. He looked directly at me, and despite the frightening color of his eyes, I could tell he was apologizing, trying to explain things to me. Then he turned around and walked out of the house, disappearing in a blur. I watched him go with sad eyes, my mind still reeling from what had happened. Looking up at Emmet I could tell he looked troubled, too.

Life with vampires is not a walk in the park, I have to admit. Especially when I'm human. I have certain advantages, however, that makes it easier for me to live with them. Aside from having known them since I was just a baby, I have a special sensitivity that makes it possible for me to channel certain aspects of vampirism. I can move as fast as them, hear and see as well as them, and I have the same super-human strength they possess. These things have a range, of course. I have to be within a certain distance of them to pick them up. I call it "faulty reception" when I'm not close enough to any of them to do any of these things. If it were only these few things, it wouldn't be nearly as annoying when I wasn't in range, but that is not all that I'm capable of.

Some vampires have special gifts, like Edward's mind-reading for example. Carlisle has a theory that when a person is turned into a vampire, they bring something with them, something that gets enhanced by the transformation. Things like Emmet's strength, and Carlisle's compassion for others are simple examples. Others like Edward and Alice, who are blessed with more advanced gifts, were possibly more sensitive to such things when they were human, hence why they're able to do what they can. I am able to pick up both the simple personality enhancements, as well as the more complex abilities. After so many years of being around my family, and growing accustomed to feeling the presence of their gifts, I have a tendency to become mildly depressed whenever one of them, especially Edward, goes away for more than a few days. It always feels like a part of me is missing.

Of course, they're not my _real _family as I was always painfully reminded when something like this thing with Edward happened. I don't know who my real parents are, nor do I even care. Whoever they are left me outside the door to an abandoned apartment building in a dark alley, presumably to die. Maybe they were hoping someone would find me, but it was not as though there wasn't a hospital nearby they could have taken me to. At any rate, someone _did_ find me, and Emmet tells me all he doesn't regret taking me home with him even a little bit. It caused great debate with the family at first, because of the fact that I was a human baby, and they saw no way that it could work out for my benefit.

They argued with Emmet. They pleaded with him to see reason and take me to a shelter, the hospital, somewhere where I would get proper care. He told me years later that he didn't know what made him so sure about his decision, but he firmly told them no, that he was keeping me, and raising me regardless of what they said. For the first two years Emmet and Rosalie took care of me on their own, away from the rest of the family. Rosalie was thrilled at first. With my dark hair I was able to pass as their daughter. For the most part those years passed normally. I had the regular milestones that children have. I said my first word (Emmet), took my first steps (towards Emmet), and moved on from diapers to training pants. This was when Rosalie began to become a little irritated by me, and the attention Emmet doted on me. It got worse over time. Then, a few days after my second birthday, I broke the little coffee table in the living room of our house in half by pounding my fist down on it because Emmet wouldn't give me a cookie

Immediately, they took me back to see Carlisle, alarmed by my sudden extraordinary strength. All of the animosity that had come with my discovery seemed to be forgotten as he examined and ran tests on me over the span of a few days. He found no conclusion that explained my ability, but he did not want to give up. While I was staying there, the other Cullen children took turned interacting with me, and after just a few hours, they all began to enjoy my company. So I've been told anyway. Edward especially took a shining to me. We would spend hours on end playing silly games that made us both laugh. I was able to speak in broken sentences by this time, and it was during one of these play sessions that some of the extent of my ability was uncovered. We were playing a board game. Suddenly, I could hear him thinking that I was unnaturally intelligent for wanting to move my piece a certain way. The compliment did not go over well with me.

"Cheater!" I had shouted in my childish voice, placing my hands on my hips in defiance. He looked at me innocently, but with some sincere confusion.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"I _heard _you," I told him, "Hearing my head is no fair!" As I looked at him with a scowl I heard him think, _This isn't normal_. I said again, "No, its cheating!" This time his eyes widened, and he glanced around. All of the others were upstairs, unaware about what was going on. He took a deep breath and thought as clearly as he could, _Can you tell me your full name?_ Apparently I actually smiled when I heard this, forgetting that I was supposed to be angry with him, because Emmet had just recently taught me to say my full name and I had been proud of myself.

"Briar Guinevere Rose Cullen," I said cheerfully. Edward shook his head in disbelief, but I remember he was smiling, too. He called for the others, and he explained to them what he had found out. He gave a demonstration, thinking clearly that Emmet was a big dummy and asking a giggling me to say it aloud. Even Emmet wasn't able to get angry through his amazement.

After that I was welcomed completely as a member of the Cullen family. I started thinking of Carlisle and Esme more as my parents, especially as I grew older and the others stayed looking young, though I never lost my attachment to Emmet. Edward became second on my favoritism ladder, especially once I was old enough to control my ability to read minds when I was around him. More things became apparent as I grew older. When I was seven I discovered I could use Jasper's ability to control the emotions in the room to certain degrees. There seemed no end to the mystery, but the family was now set on keeping me safe and loved.

I traveled around with them, moving whenever it they'd stayed in one place so long the locals might start noticing they didn't age. I never complained. As long as I was with them, my family, I could be happy. They often worried that I was not living enough of a normal life, and I was constantly having to tell them that I loved them, that that made up for everything I wasn't able to do. Because there were some things that were missing from my life. Family dinners, for example. Of course, they were often present when I ate my meals, but they just never ate with me. They preferred a different cuisine.

"So it was that girl in the cafeteria?" I asked Emmet now as he continued to stand close to me, staring at the front door where Edward had exited. He appeared to be brooding on something.

"You're the one who can read minds, kid," he said, his voice hardly more than a mutter. More to himself he added, "I can't believe he came _home_. What was he thinking?" I frowned up at Emmet.

"Why wouldn't he have come home?" I asked, maybe a little roughly, not liking his tone. He glanced down at me sharply, his face one big frown.

"He was about ready to attack you," he said to me, his voice raised as though he couldn't believe I was being so dense, "He catches a whiff of that girl at school and nearly loses it. Then he decides that after a short jaunt in the woods he's going to come home and be perfectly safe for our human little sister to be around?" Emmet sighed angrily, grabbing his head in his hands like Edward had, and sitting down heavily on the couch. "He was being a total moron. If we hadn't heard his snarl and come to interfere..." He trailed off, but I knew what he was thinking without having to read his mind. I placed a hand on his muscular arm.

"Em," I said, using the short-name that I knew was usually able to bring a smile to his face, "Don't think that. Edward would never attack me, no matter what. We've been through this before. I've been around you guys when you were thirsty my entire life. What makes this time so different?" But to some degree I already knew the answer to that.

"Did you see his eyes?" Emmet said to me, his voice softened now, "I caught her scent, too, we all did. But it seems that Ed was more affected by it than we were." He sighed again, covering his face in his hands, and I again I knew what he was thinking. I rested my head on his shoulder. It felt like a rock, but I still felt totally comfortable.

"Don't worry, Em," I said, "Everything will be fine. I'm fine. He didn't attack me. I think he said something about going to Alaska for a few days. He'll figure out how to deal with this." Emmet didn't say anything, but he wrapped one arm protectively around me and squeezed.

The rest of the school week passed without much excitement. I felt slightly depressed without Edward's presence, but Jasper did his best to keep my spirits up. I appreciated the concern, but I was not happy about having to relinquish my feelings of resentment towards the new girl, Isbella Swan. Inadvertently or not, she had driven my brother away, and a small part of me despised her for it. It was nothing she could control, and I knew that well enough, but I still couldn't help glaring at her when her back was turned to me at lunch. What also bothered me was the fact that she was always glancing over at the table my siblings and I shared, as though expecting to see Edward there. I didn't know what to make of it, and with Edward gone there was no way for me to try and get an explanation from her mind. I spent almost every lunch period that week stabbing moodily at my food with a fork.

Stepping out of the car on Friday after Alice took her turn driving us home, I was struck by a familiar sensation. I could hear the absent thoughts of my siblings as we walked towards the house. Emmet was planning on taking Rosalie on a hunting trip that weekend, and Alice was thinking about what to wear tomorrow. Exhilarated, I focused on the house, easily picking out Edward's thoughts as he spoke to Carlisle in their father's office upstairs. Thrilled, and unable to contain myself, I dashed for the house, moving faster than I ought to be able to, dropping my bag at the foot of the stairs before sprinting upwards and bursting through the office door. Edward sat before Carlisle's desk, looking as perfect as I remembered him. He no longer look like a wild animal ready to strike, and even from the doorway I could see that his eyes were back to the non-threatening gold color. With a broad grin I ran at him and threw my arms around his neck. He greeted me with equal enthusiasm embracing me in his own arms as he stood up, lifting me off the ground in the process.

"You're home!" I exclaimed joyously, not feeling at all stupid by stating the obvious. He grinned at me.

"I told you I wasn't going to be gone long," he said, his dazzling smile faltering slightly as he looked at me, "I am so sorry about snarling at you before." I gazed at him softly, rolling my eyes.

"Its not like you attacked me."

"But I could have."

"But you didn't."

"But he could have," said a voice from the doorway. I let go of Edward and turned to see Emmet standing there with his arms folded. I sighed, folding my own arms loosely over my chest. Edward looked passive, as though he had been expecting nothing less than the unwelcoming tone Emmet was using.

"I'm better now," he said to Emmet, "You know I would never mean to do that on purpose. I had no idea what kind of affect that was going to have on me. I thought I was safe to come home. I was mistaken." Standing there beside him, I hated hearing the shameful tone in his voice, as though he absolutely hated himself for what he had done. I looked at Emmet with a scowl, but he remained a statue. Then, in a single moment, his face broke out into a smile. He glided forward and clapped Edward on the shoulder.

"No biggie," he said cheerily, "Not like I wasn't going to be able to take you down if it came to that." I rolled my eyes again, but I felt better. Things were alright again, and I was relieved.

Later that night, when the house was quiet with everyone in their rooms, I walked down the upstairs hallway, my pajama pants fluttering around my ankles. I knocked lightly on one of the doors. The occupant didn't even bother telling me to come in, I could hear their affirmation in their thoughts. I opened the door and stepped inside, closing it again behind me. Edward was lying on his back on the large black leather couch that dominated one side of the room. He stared at the ceiling, not even looking in my direction as I moved towards him. Taking a seat on the couch, I perched myself atop his lower legs, folding my own beneath me as I stared ahead at his face. I waited a while before speaking.

"So what happened, Ed?" I asked in a low voice, knowing he could hear me perfectly well. He still didn't look at me, but I could feel him shift uneasily beneath me. I knew he wasn't going to want to talk about it, but I had to know.

"I'm not sure," he finally answered, staring determinedly at the ceiling, "I've never experience anything like it. I didn't even realize what was going on until the very end of lunch. That was when I got a really good whiff of her." He closed his eyes and shuddered a little, as though trying to suppress the memory. "I've never smelled anything so tantalizing in my life. I never imagined anything could smell so sweet. In that moment I was ready to abandon everything that Carlisle has taught me, but I was able to resist, though I don't know how. After school I thought that maybe if I went on a run, try to get the smell out of my nostrils, I would be alright. I knew hunting would be pointless right at that moment. Nothing would have seemed satisfactory. When I got home, I planned on grabbing someone for a hunting trip, but you were the first one I saw. Now, you've never smelled particularly great, no offense."

"None taken," I said with a small smile. I watched his lips twitch in a grin, but he continued gazing upward. He continued.

"Anyway, you're smell has never appealed to me, but I was just so keyed up I just suddenly wanted to..." He trailed off. It sounded like his voice had caught in his throat. I sighed as I looked at him sadly. I untangled my legs and stretched out so I was lying on top of him. There was nothing awkward about this. In reality he was over a hundred years older than I am, and I had never had any trouble continuing to act much younger than I was around my brothers. I felt nothing for Edward whatsoever except the love of one sibling to another.

"Stop blaming yourself for that, please," I said, "You weren't yourself. If you had been in your right mind you wouldn't have done anything like that. I've been around you when your eyes have nearly been blood red, and you've never attacked me. I thought that was the worst you could get. I supposed I was wrong." There was a silence between them as they both got lost in their thoughts. This was always interesting, since I could still hear him, and he could still hear me, but I don't think either of us were interested in listening to the other's mind right then. After a while I added, "It wasn't just you, you know. The others could smell her, too. Alice practically bit my head off in computer class after lunch."

Suddenly, Edward did look at me, his golden eyes fixed on mine. He propped himself up on his elbows so he could see me better, a thoughtful look on his face. I knew what he was thinking before he said anything, and I knew that he was hoping I would answer his question without him having to ask, but I waited quietly until he finally realized I wasn't going to comply to his wishes. He sighed, but I knew he would still ask, so I continued to wait.

"Did you smell it?" he finally asked in a voice so low I wouldn't have been able to hear him if I couldn't take advantage of the acute hearing. I didn't hesitate with my answer, because I had been thinking about it for days.

"I didn't notice anything on Monday," I said to him, "But I paid more attention the rest of the week. I even made a point to pass as close to her as a could when I was on my way to the gym, taking a deep breath when I did." I wrinkled my nose a little as I remembered it. "At first I thought I was imagining it, but the more I did it the more I realized that I _could_ smell her. I doubt she smelled anything even close to what she smelt like to the others, let alone you, but she definitely smelled...good." This felt like a lame ending, but I could tell he understood what I was saying.

When I was old enough to be told about what my family was, I had no problem believing it. They had waited longer than necessary to tell me, and I had already come to the conclusion that they were not like me, not human. It was when they explained to me about their "vegetarian" diet that I realized just how amazing my family was. Carlisle explained his history to me, and told me about his philosophy that vampires did not need to survive on human blood. Animal blood could suffice for them. I thought this an unbelievable sacrifice on their part, and I felt infinitely proud of them after that. They also took the time to talk to me about my ability.

By this time I had already honed the extra skills I gained from being around Edward, Emmet, and Jasper. I could read people's thoughts, control the emotions in the room, and I could hold my own in a wrestling match with any of them. Besides this I had the ability to pick up several other traits. The obvious ones were the speed, and the heightened senses. I also didn't smell particularly good to them or any of their vampire friends that I had met. I've been told this is not just because they do not partake in human blood anymore, but because my scent is simply not appetizing.

The most peculiar thing of them all, and the one that had concerned my family the most, was the fact that I began to be able to _smell_ the blood of other humans just as they did. I had no thirst for it, none at all. I had to spend an entire week convincing Emmet of this. Simply, I could smell the very different scent that every human had. It was no different than being able to smell different flowers. Of course, not all humans smell as good as flowers, but I had rarely come across one that did not smell at least at little...tasty. I have never felt any desire to try human blood, not that any of them would ever let me, but I figured that I also had no desire to ever eat something like cow tongue, as good as it smelled when cooked properly. Bella Swan, had smelled almost delicious.

"Delicious, hm?" Edward asked with a smug smile. I curled my fist and brought it down hard on his chest. It barely affected him, but it made me feel better. I hated it when he did that. Before I could make comeback my mouth opened in a yawn. Edward softened his face. "Time for bed I think." I agreed grudgingly and got up to head back to my room. I paused at the door and looked back at him. He looked questioningly at me but I said nothing. I just smiled sleepily, thinking how glad I was to have him back, and when his face lit up with the smile I loved so much, I went to bed.

On the following Monday, I woke up with no idea about what to expect the day to be like. During my talk with Edward on Friday night, and through the entire weekend, I had forgotten to ask him how he was planning on dealing with the Bella situation. I wasn't sure if he was going to be able to keep control over himself, but he didn't seem concerned when I piled into the car that morning, so I made myself not worry. During Calculus, I tried to get some answers from his mind, but he was blocking me, something that both of did without thinking about it sometimes. Though, I believed that he was doing this on purpose. There was something he didn't want me hearing. I walked to English by myself, was again left alone in class to think about everything that was not what the teacher was talking about.

When the bell rang for lunch and I exited the classroom, my thoughts about the current situation were delayed when I saw the snow that was covering the ground. With a large grin I grabbed a handful of snow, shaping it into a round ball, and went in search of one of my siblings. I found Emmet first. It was perfect. He was already occupied throwing a snowball at Rosalie, who was trying to hide behind Alice with no success. I pulled back my arm to throw the ball of snow I had in my hand at the back of my brother's head when something wet hit the back of my head just as I let my projectile fly. The force of the snowball that hit me threw it off target, hitting the ground harmlessly just to the left of Emmet. I glared behind me at the grinning Edward. I quickly snatched up another handful of snow and flung it at him. Though he could have easily dodged it, he let it hit the side of his head.

"You really need to learn to block your thoughts better," he said with that smug smile as he brushed bits of snow from his hair. I continued to glare at him just as another snowball hit me in the head. This time it was Emmet, and I didn't hesitate before running at him and tackling him to the ground, mashing a handful of a snow into his hair as payback. Alice and Rosalie laughed at the sight. Even Jasper chuckled a little.

By the time the six of us made it into the cafeteria we were all soaking wet from the shoulders up, but we were laughing as got our food and sat down. These were the times I loved having with my siblings. When we were all happy like this I didn't feel as different from them as I so obviously was. After all the years I had spent being constantly around them, I had grown accustom to the stark differences that existed between them and I. I knew from listening to what people thought that the story we fed whatever town it was that we inhabited, that myself, Edward, Emmet, and Alice were siblings, and that Rosalie and Jasper were twins, was not believed by all. I simply did not look like them. I had dark hair sure, but I did not, and could not, possess the unquestioned beauty that they did.

"Can you hear her?" asked Edward suddenly, and I was jolted out of my thoughts. I looked at him quizzically, and he nodded his head almost imperceptibly to the side. Turning to look I saw the same group of people who had been sitting at the table last Monday, and with them again was Bella Swan. I didn't have to ask what he meant by hearing her and for a few seconds I focused on listening to what she was thinking. After just a few moments I realized something was very wrong.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, a little louder than I meant to, causing a few people closer to our table to turn their heads. I looked sharply at Edward, who was staring back at me with a steady gaze, and I knew that he already knew that I wasn't going to be able to head her thoughts.

"What's going on?" I asked him, lowing my voice to a whisper, leaning over my tray. None of this was necessary, since he could hear me even if I was at the other end of the room, but it was just my human side coming out.

"I don't know," he told me, his voice calm, but I could tell he was not as calm on the inside. I stared at him, knowing that this is what he had been trying to keep from me all day. He hadn't wanted to alarm me, or find out that I could hear her just fine, which meant that there was possibly something wrong with him. Because he couldn't hear her either. As he stared at me across the table, Edward added in a troubled voice, "No, I can't."

When lunch was over and I walked alongside Alice to our computer class, I felt like I couldn't concentrate on anything, just like last Monday when all of this had started. Try as I might, I could not think of a plausible reason for this to be happening. Humans are all the same, essentially. There should be no reason for Edward's ability to be thwarted by one girl. I sat down in class next to Alice, not even aware of my surroundings enough to turn on my computer until the teacher reprimanded me. I glanced over at Alice as I hurried to set up the program we were using.

"Alice?" I said carefully, and when she didn't snap at me this time I kept going, "How can this be possible? How can she possibly be able to block us both?" Alice shrugged, staring at her screen as he dainty fingers clicked the mouse with graceful precision.

"You can block Edward," she replied absently.

"Yeah, but she's human," I retorted quickly, not realizing what I had said until Alice spun her head in my direction, looking at me intently.

"Briar, _you _are human." I stared at her blankly, blinking my eyes in an almost stupid manner. I turned back to my monitor and got to work.

She was right, of course. As much as I knew how much I regretted my own mortality, I still couldn't believe I had made such a mistake. More so than my refusal to acknowledge my humanity, was the fact that my ignorance had caused me to miss the answer to my questions. _I _was human, and _I _had a special ability. The idea that I could be alone in this is narcissistic at best. There would have to be other humans like me. Not many, of course, just as there were not many vampires with abilities. This revelation made it both easier and harder to think. I couldn't wait to to get home and talk to Edward.

Edward seemed to have been anticipating my bombardment when we got home, and since I was too distracted in the car to put up any kind of mental barrier I wasn't surprised to see him stay in the car when the others got out. He turned to look at me with his buttery eyes, and I nodded. We both got out of the car. I left my school bag in the car. Instead of heading towards the house, we walked together towards the woods to the south of the house. The river separated us from the forest was wide, but we both jumped it with ease. I didn't think I would ever grow tired of the perks of being who, or what, I was. There wasn't any real trails, but we had no trouble picking our way through the trees. We didn't talk for a little while.

"Can we talk normally?" I asked casually as we walked, "I have a headache." Edward glanced at me in concern, but I just rolled my eyes. "Headaches are like dreams, Ed. Humans have them." Given my earlier lapse of self-awareness, I was surprised to hear the impatience in my voice. For years it seemed, that my family, mostly my three brothers, had begun to think of me more as one of them than a human. It was an easy mistake to make, as I had learned that afternoon, but the fact was that I was still mortal. I breathed, I bled, I aged.

"You know," Edward mused as we moved fluidly among the trees, "If you want to talk normally, it would help if you wouldn't think such depressing things." I cracked a small smile, but I didn't comment.

"So you can't hear her either?" I asked, finally getting to the point of our hike. He had already told me the answer in the cafeteria, but I needed to hear it again. He sighed and shook his head, but he didn't say anything so I kept going. "And that doesn't bother you?" Edward stopped dead in his tracks, so suddenly that I kept walking for several feet before I realized I was alone.

"Of course it bothers me," he said to me, sounding horrified that I had suggested such a thing. His eyes were gazed at me with an intense desperation I wasn't used to. I held up both my hands, looking at him with raised brows.

"Chill out, Edward," I said, "I didn't mean anything by it. Don't bite my head off." This got a smile from him, which I was counting on. I smiled back. This was our little joke, something that never failed to cheer him up. "Now, what I meant, was that you seemed in better spirit today. You were smiling at lunch, laughing even. You're not as tense as you were last Monday. You tried talking to her in Biology today." I added this last part as an afterthought and he grinned wider at me. He hadn't told me about it, but our mental connection sometimes simply transferred information without much effort on their part.

"Yes, I did," Edward said leaning against the trunk of a tree, "And since you already know how that conversation turned out, I'll skip the details." He took a moment, gathering his thoughts, and I let him, letting my own mind wander so as not to disturb him. My headache made this less difficult. It only hurt more when I tried concentrating on hearing him think. Finally he continued, "I honestly don't know exactly what to tell you. I can only say for now that I decided while I was in Alaska that I wasn't going to let an insignificant human force me away from my home and my family." The tenderness in his voice was enough to make my heart break. To think that he would put himself through what I knew was near torture to be around this girl, Bella, just so he could stay with the family...it just reminded me how much I loved my brother.

"God, you're sentimental," he teased, and I realized he'd been listening, just as he always seemed to be. Glaring at him I threw a punch towards his face which he easily deflected with a wide smile. He tried to force my arm behind my back, but I twisted expertly out of his grip and the wrestling match was on. Of course, we weren't able to go for more than a few seconds before a terrible pain gripped my head.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed in pain as I collapsed to the ground, clutching my head with both my hands. Edward was already by my side, his face the definition of alarm and concern.

"Briar!" he said loudly so I could hear him above my shouts, "Brenna, whats wrong?" I shook my head, both to express to him that I didn't know and in an attempt to shake the pain out. I'd never felt anything like this before in my life. I clutched Edwards arm, begging without words for him to make it stop. He grabbed me in an instant and I felt us running through the forest. In mere seconds we were back at the house. I didn't even know we were inside until I heard Emmet's demanding voice.

"Whats wrong with her?" he shouted, and as soon as the words left him mouth the pain was gone. Edward had placed me on the couch. My eyes blinked a few times before I sat up. My entire family was in the room, staring at me with eyes wide. Seeing the look of absolute terror on Emmet's face, and knowing I had caused it made me grimace.

"Briar?" Edward said cautiously. I looked at him and he sighed with relief, looking around at the others. "Shes fine," he informed them.

"Then why isn't she talking?" Emmet demanded. Edward answered that question, too.

"She's thinking," he said solemnly.

And I was thinking. Quite hard, in fact. The pain was completely gone. I didn't even have a headache anymore. Desperately, I tried to find an explanation for what had just happened, but nothing clear was coming to me. It had happened so suddenly, with no pretense except the headache. Some part of me had a vague idea, but I didn't even know if it were possible. I looked around at the people around me, all people I loved, until I found the pixie-face I was sinking.

"Alice?" I said, in such a clear voice that they all jumped. All except for Alice, who stared back at me with a blank stare. I took a deep breath and then continued, "Did you see anything?" Now everyone was looking at Alice, but she took a while before she answered.

"No," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, but we all heard her. I heaved a heavy sigh and leaned back on the couch.

"Briar," I heard Emmet say as he crouched in front of me, "What happened?" He spoke clearly and firmly, holding me attention with his eyes. I took another deep breath as I looked at him.

"I think," I began slowly, "I think I _saw_ something." Everyone in the room tensed up at my words, all of them deciphering what I said with ease, because of so many years living with Alice, but none of them said anything. I went one. "I was in the woods with Edward, and then all of a sudden my entire head was pain. It felt like something too big was trying to force itself into a space that was too small, like if I didn't stop it soon me entire head was going to explode." No it was Edward who was beside me, looking at me with a serious expression.

"What did you see?" he asked gently, and I felt slightly more at ease, though only just. I looked at him desperately and he just remained silent, waiting until I was ready to talk.

"I'm not sure," I finally said, "It all happened so fast, and the pain was so distracting I..." I trailed off, my voice catching in my throat as my emotions caught up with me. Tears welled in my eyes and a second later I felt Edward's arms around me. I clutched at him as I had in the forest, burying my face in his hard shoulder. I let his ability wash over me, and soon I felt sleepy. Edward carried me up to my room and I fell into a deep slumber.

As I slept that night, my sleep was plagued by another dream. This one was of the same quality as the first. Everything was so crisp and clear, except the very edges of the image, creating an uncertainty around it all. I could see Edward crouched on the floor of some room. His face held a look of such anguish I could almost not bear to look and tried to will myself to wake, but to no avail. He was positioned over another body that lay stretched out on the floor next to him. At first I couldn't see their face, though I could tell it was a girl. I concentrated on switching my perspective so I could see her face, but before I could I watched, horrified, as Edward leaned his face down towards the girl's throat. I tried to call out to him, tell him to stop, that it wasn't worth it, but it was as though I had been turned into a mute. In the blink of an eye the scene switched, and all I could see was the face of the girl. All at once I realized that Edward had not been meaning to kill her.

"Briar!" The voice jolted me awake. I sat up straight in my bed, sending my covers flying. My breath was coming in gasps as I looked around my room. My entire family was gathered around my bed, staring at me with eyes that were wide with concern. If I hadn't been in such a state I might have noticed that Alice was the only one not there, but as it was I was both terribly confused and somewhat frightened by the situation. It was Edward who had called my name, and so he did again.

"Briar?" Edward repeated, "Are you okay?" I blinked, rubbing at eyes, though I felt no remnants of being tired. I just needed to do something with my hands so they would stop shaking.

"I think so," I said after a few moments, looking around at my family, "What's going on?"

"You were screaming," Emmet said. He was standing at the foot of my bed, his massive arms folded across his chest, gazing at me with eyes that were afraid. I hated to see him like that.

"I was?" I asked in disbelief, and Edward nodded.

"Yeah," he said solemnly, "And we couldn't get you to wake up." Looking at him with wide eyes, I suddenly realized what had brought them all into my room. While I dreamt of Edward, and the girl, I had screamed, alerting the rest of the household. I had screamed my brother's name while I watched him bend over the girl's body and...

"Edward?" I heard Carlisle say sharply, and I looked up to see that Edward was now standing, staring down at me with fearful eyes. Too late I realized that I had been openly thinking about my dream, not thinking to block him out of my thoughts. He had seen everything. I gazed up at him with much the same fear in my eyes, not sure what I should say or do. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Jasper broke the silence.

"Alice!" he exclaimed suddenly, and then dashed out of the room. For the first time I noticed that my bubbly sister was the only one missing from the group. As soon as I realized this, my ability to channel Jasper's gift kicked into gear, and I could feel the tension that always surrounded Alice when she was seeing something.

Throwing the covers off the rest of my body, I leapt from my bed. The rest of my family was already out of the room, but I knew where they were going. I dashed down the hallway, where one of the bedroom doors was ajar, I slipped through it and found everyone gathered around Alice, who was sitting in a chair at her desk. I could see her hands clinging to the edge of the desk so hard her knuckles would have been white if they weren't already. Jasper stood behind her, his hands on her shoulders. Cautiously, I approached, standing next to Edward. I saw him give me a fleeting glance, and I knew he was still thinking about what he had seen in my head. No one said a thing as they all watched Alice sit there, her eyes shut tight. Finally, her butterscotch eyes opened, and she looked around at all of them. When she got to Edward she locked eyes with him, and within seconds I watched as Edward shook his head over and over.

"No," he said, placing his hands on either side of his head, "No, no, no. You're wrong. You're both wrong."

"Edward," Esme asked gently, reaching a hand out to touch his arm. He yanked his arm away and stalked out of the room.

"Ask them!" he shouted as he left. I couldn't hear him climb the stairs up to the third floor, but I heard his bedroom door slam so hard I was almost positive it had broken free of the hinges. Rarely had I seen Edward act in such a manner, and it left me shocked for a moment. Now it was time for everyone to stare at me and Alice. She looked at their expectant faces and sighed, looking over at me with a weary expression.

"You tell them," she said, sounding as though she had just ran a marathon, "I'm exhausted." Everyone's gaze shifted to me as I became uneasy. The only one who did not look at me was Jasper, for he had eyes only for Alice in that moment. Still unsure about what had just happened, it took me a few more seconds to feel steady enought to say anything.

"Well, first," I said, "I think we've finally gotten our answer on when and how I would be able to pick up Alice's ability." I let that sink a moment, making sure they all understood what I was saying before continuing. "I think what happened to me earlier was a vision, but my mind doesn't function the same as that of a vampire. It's too small. When I sleep, however, my mind opens up a little more, and the vision was able to slip into my subconscious. I think thats what happened a week ago as well." After Edward had left the house on that ill-fated day, I had filled my family in on the dream I had had about him. There were no secrets in our family.

"But why is it suddenly happening now?" Carlisle asked, his voice more curious than anything else. To this, I believed I had the answer.

"We already know that Alice sees vampires better than humans because she is one," I explained, "So, it makes sense that the same thing would be true for me. I didn't start seeing things until there was a human involved and it directly affected me or indirectly affected me through you guys." Now came the part where I would have to tell them what I had seen. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could someone beat me to the punch.

"And you saw me turning Bella Swan into a vampire," Edward spoke from the doorway. I jumped a little, but when I turned to face him my expression was calm. He didn't look nearly as angry as he had before, but he had always been the best at controlling his temper. He took a step into the living room. "And the reason you dreamt of me last week was because it was Bella, a human, who did that to me, thus triggering the vision." His tone was almost conversational as he said this. Without faltering I nodded.

"Yes," I said, "I believe so." He smiled at me, something I definitely didn't expect.

"Well," he said brightly, "If you _are_ having visions like Alice, then that means that your visions are also fallible. They can change." I realized that this is what he had gone upstairs to think about, and had drawn his conclusion. He was right, of course. The things Alice saw, and therefore the things I saw, were not set in stone. But there was still about a fifty-fifty chance they would come to pass, and I didn't feel like pointing out that most of the things Alice had seen in my years with the family had turned out to be correct. If it comforted Edward to think that way, then I wasn't going to stand in his way.

"Good," Edward said with a grin, "Thats settled then." I glared at him, but it was rendered ineffective when I yawned heavily.

"Alright," Esme, my mother, said in her musical, lullaby-like voice, "This has been quite enough excitement for one night. You all have school tomorrow, and Brenna looks exhausted."

"I'm fine, Mom," I tried to say defiantly, but another yawn thwarted the attempt. I blinked my eyes groggily, trying to appear less sleepy, but it didn't work. Finally, I allowed Emmett to escort me back to my room, in case I should be gripped by another vision I suppose. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep, and this time I was allowed to slumber in a dreamless peace.

--

The next morning came too soon for me. I could barely rouse myself enough to drag myself out of my bed. The sunlight coming in through my large bedroom window hurt my eyes, and I had to hold up a hand to shield them, too tired to simply go close the drapes. Focusing on getting myself ready for school I barely made it to the car with enough time for Edward to get us to school going under a hundred miles per hour, which would have been frightening enough without the black ice on the roads. Of course, we didn't crash, and we got there a few minutes early, just like always. He parked the Volvo and we all got out.

"You look like crap," Emmet commented as he looked over at me. I glowered at him from across the top of the car.

"Thanks so much," I responded sarcastically. He grinned and I wanted desperately to throw something at him, but in my state I was more likely to hit the windshield of someone's car. Instead I just yawned, and sunk against the side of the car. I heard Edward laugh.

"What's the matter?" he asked my through his chuckling, "Wishing you were normal?" My attempt to glare at him was useless, seeing as how I could barely keep my eyes open.

I opened my mouth to utter another retort, but before I could a deafening squealing sound filled the air. Spinning around I had time to see Tyler Crowley in his dark blue mini-van skidding across the ice that had covered the ground that morning. His wheels had locked and his vehicle was spinning end over end across the parking lot, heading right for a mongrel truck that was oh so familiar. Horrified, I saw Bella Swan cower against the side of her truck, right where Tyler's car was going to smash into at any moment, crushing Bella along with it. If I hadn't been gifted with the senses of my family, I would never have seen Edward as he sprinted across the parking lot, too fast for anyone else but our family to see. Involuntarily I opened my mouth to scream his name in panic, but Emmet was suddenly beside me, clasping his large, smothering hand over my mouth.

"Shhh," he whispered in my ear, "You know he's not in danger." And then he let go of me. I stood there, frozen in place, watching as, with a thunderous crunching crash, Tyler's car plowed into Bella's truck. Or, at least, it _looked_ like it had plowed into the truck to the untrained eye. But I could see from my position, not to mention hear Edward's thoughts, that all was well with Bella. My fool of a brother had saved her life. He had risked our discovery to save the life of a human girl, and I couldn't believe it.

Since half the school had followed the procession of ambulances, and of course Chief Swan in his police cruiser, to the hospital there was no point in staying and trying to finish out the day. I chose not to accompany them, knowing that Edward would not be hurt even the tiniest bit, and my presence would just bring more attention to that fact. So I just got back into the car with the rest of my siblings and Alice drove us back to the house. We silently got out and walked into the living room. I collapsed on the couch between Alice and Rosalie. Emmet and Jasper both sunk into the large armchairs that also occupied the living room. No one broke the silence until I heard a low growl rumble deep in Emmet's chest.

"What's gotten into him lately?" he growled irritably.

"Bella Swan," I mumbled under my breath, "This has all gotten so far out of hand." Heaving a heavy sigh I placed my hands over my face, raking them down as though trying to erase the memories of the last few days from my head. It didn't work. "I'll talk to him when he gets home. This can't keep happening. I don't mind moving around, but not when we don't have to. I like it here." None of them said anything, but I heard their consent nonetheless. Now it was simply a waiting game.

It wasn't long until I could hear Edward walking up the drive way to the house. He was moving slowly, and I knew that he was waiting for me, yet again. I stood up from the couch and moved fluidly to the door. I trotted down to porch steps and angled around the house where Edward was leaning against the door to the large family garage. His expression was troubled and brooding. He barely seemed to notice as I walked up to him, instead immediately walking towards their usual trail. He seemed so distracted I was almost worried he would short the jump over the river, but he made it effortlessly, and I quickly followed. We walked through the cheers in silence for what felt like an eternity. I wasn't exactly sure how I should start the conversation.

"Why not start with your opinion that I'm a hapless, moronic...jackass was it?" Edward said in a casual voice, "Now, personally, I find that a little harsh, but I suppose I'm a little biased on the subject."

"Well, Edward," I said, matching his tone as we walked, "You've always been the self-sacrificing one. I'm sure you've managed to think of more appropriate names for yourself and your behavior." At this he choked out a laugh, but we kept moving. After a while I continued, "Honestly, Ed. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," he answered quickly and sincerely, "I saw her cowering there, about to get smeared into the side of her truck and I just couldn't stand there and do nothing." He didn't sound overly defensive, merely trying to explain himself. It was just the thing I would expect from Edward. "Besides, can you imagine what would have happened if there had been a large pool of her blood on the ground of the parking lot? Considering the effect her _smell_ has on me?" I thought about this, and realized he had a point. It was _only_ a point, however.

"That can't be the only reason," I said impatiently, stopping so suddenly that this time it was Edward who kept walking before he realized it, "Edward, come on. Even if I couldn't hear your thoughts I know you better than that. You've _changed_. I'm not that its a bad change, Ed, but you're not the same. You're conflicted over something. You felt something when he confronted you at the hospital. She _saw_ you save her. What are you going to do about that?"

"Nothing!" he shouted at me suddenly, with such ferocity that I leapt back about a foot. He grabbed his head in his hands as he had so many times before now, "I don't know what to do. She said she won't say anything, and I think I believe her, but I don't know what to do, Briar. I don't know what's wrong with me." He slumped against the trunk of a tree as he said this, and the totally hopelessness in his voice caught me off guard. I looked at him as he stood there, looking for all intent and purposes like a depressed puppy. Sighing I walked over to him and rested my hand lightly on his arm.

Edward had been alive for over a century. I had only come into his life as his newest sibling sixteen years ago, if you don't count the two years I spent alone with Emmet and Rosalie, and yet we had developed a bond more akin to twins. Emmet would always be my overly protective older brother, but Edward was my friend. We had an understanding about one another that was like nothing I had with anyone else, because of our shared ability. I had been listening to his thoughts almost my entire life, and suddenly I felt like it was foreign territory. All because of Bella Swan. Because for some reason, my brother couldn't keep himself away from her.

"Edward," I said softly, waiting as he raised his face so I could look him in the eyes, still not believing what I was about to say. I had come out here to tell him that he had to stay away from her no matter what, otherwise the consequences for our family would be great, but something had changed my mind. "I hate to be the one to tell you this...but I think you're in love."


End file.
